The focus of this training grant is to provide training to pre- and post-doctoral students in theoretical and practical approaches in the use of animal models, immunology, molecular and cell biology, and functional genomics to analyze problems in virology. The field of virology is a dynamic discipline that has significantly changed over the past decade requiring investigators to have background knowledge in many different areas of science including cell biology, signaling, protein and nucleic acid biochemistry, immunology, structural biology, the use of virus as vectors in gene therapy, and the emerging area of functional genomics that encompasses microarray transcriptome analysis, proteomics, and bioinformatics approaches. In addition many students are not trained in the use of animal models that are critical for understanding mechanisms of viral pathogenesis as well as the development of novel vaccines and therapies. Many traditional virology programs emphasize only few of these topics that are generally restricted to a few RNA and DNA viruses. In addition very few programs have the breadth of faculty with expertise in all of these topics. The major strength of the Virology Training Program at OHSU is the strong group of virologists with diverse but overlapping interests in most of the areas mentioned above that have been recruited to the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) and OHSU over the past 15 years. This highly interactive productive group of independent scientists provides an ideal training opportunity for pre- and post-doctoral fellows in Virology. Therefore the goal of our program is to train PhDs, MD/PhDs and post-doctoral fellows to analyze problems in virology utilizing newer approaches in molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, animal models and functional genomics. This program will train students in the concepts of each of these disciplines that will allow them to be conversant in fields outside their areas of interest and thus increase their effectiveness in approaching problems in virology.